Imperfect Love
by WhenDayMeetsDark
Summary: Camp life had its ups and downs for Cynthia Scott; there's abusive boyfriends, loyal friends, mediocre quests and this annoying son of Hades who's made her fall harder for him than she ever has for anyone before. Nico/OC Rated T
1. Rushed Mornings

**Hello. Yeah, I'm re-writing this _again_but honestly before I didn't have any idea where this story was going. It was doomed to be a cliche and-so-they-went-on-a-quest-and-fell-in-love-in-the-process kind of story. But, I came up with a brilliant [brilliant to me anyway] idea for this story, so I have to make some minor changes. No big deal, really, but it would confuse you if I didn't make these changes. Please, actually read this, because if you don't you're going to end up horribly confused with this story, and the only result for that is about a billion 'what the hell did you do' flames. For the third time, enjoy.**

I yawned as I woke up from a blissfully dreamless sleep. I rolled over and opened my sleepy eyes and saw that I would just make breakfast if I hurried. Great, just woke up and now I get to run like Hades to the dining pavilion. I propped myself up on my elbows and rubbed my eyes. I got out of my bed and opened my dresser to grab the first set of clothes I saw (for all of you curious people out there, it was an old Camp Half-Blood t-shirt and black shorts). I got changed and put my converse on before exiting my cabin.

Unfortunately, seeing as I was not a child of Apollo and I had just woken up, the light of the sun was practically blinding. I put my arm up to shield my eyes and began to sprint to the dining pavilion. But, being me, I just had to run into someone. And that someone was Nico di Angelo, someone who, not surprisingly seeing as I was the biggest klutz _ever_, I literally ran into quite frequently. Like, on a daily basis for the past few months. Weirdly enough, though, throughout all of these unfortunate encounters, we'd never actually spoken more than a few words to each other, four at the most.

Like I just said, I'd never actually had a real conversation with Nico, but either he's a normally moody person or he was annoyed or something, because he was being really, well, _annoying_.

"OW!" I yelped as I fell down onto my ass. Great sixty-third first impression Cynthia! I thought sarcastically (yes, I am sarcastic even in my thoughts). "Sorry," I muttered pathetically.

He rolled his eyes and said, "Well why don't you put your arm down and watch where you're going? Because seriously this is getting _old. _You run into me everyday. Stupid Poseidon kids. Er, Poseidon girls."

He muttered the last part, but it was obvious that he wanted me to hear.

I rolled my eyes and got up. "Whatever."

I left him sitting in the dirt, and just before I ran off to the dining pavilion, I turned around and said, "And for the record, I don't run into you _everyday_."

"Hey Perce, what's for breakfast?" I asked Percy (who else?) as I slid into place at the Poseidon table.

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever you want it to be."

"I know, just making conversation. How's Annabeth?"

He blinked, a slight blush appearing on his cheeks. And by slight blush I mean tomato red blush. "How should I know?"

I sighed and rolled my eyes.. "Oh gee, let's see. How on earth would you know how Annabeth is? Well it couldn't be that you're with her 24/7, could it? Nah. Or maybe it's that if I remember correctly and I was not dreaming, she snuck in at midnight and left at six AM just to cuddle with you, waking me up in the process. I'm guessing that's how you would know."

His face turned a deeper shade of scarlet red and he quickly said, "You were dreaming."

"Yeah, right. And I'm a unicorn from Dandyland."

"Uh, don't you mean _candy_land?"

"No, you know what I'm like when I have sugar. Are you trying to temp me?"

"No, no!" He said hurriedly, shuddering. I laughed at his response, and at the memory of what happened the last time I had sugar. Percy still wasn't over it, apparently.

"Oh yeah," I said casually, "and i do have one question that won't lead your face to become the color of a strawberry," What? Percy had enough freckles this summer to make him look like a strawberry when he was blushing. " Is Nico normally...moody. I mean, i've run into him a few times but-"

"You know he might be less moody and annoyed with you if you didn't run into him on a daily basis." Percy said, trying to make me blush. Well, yeah I was embaressed that he knew, but I don't blush. Ever.

"Oh whatever Percy. It's just that today he seemed more..." I paused trying to find the right word. "irritable than usual."

"Okay. I care why?"

"Because he's your friend Seaweed Brain.

"Oh right...well i'll talk to him."

"You know, I know just how to summarize you Percy; My brother, the idiotic invulnerable dude."

He just rolled his eyes, which translates to "I have no good response, so I'm not even going to bother trying."

My stomach grumbled and I suddenly remember why I was even at the dinning pavilion in the first place.

Food.

"Strawberry banana with extra banana smoothie and two slices of ham, pineapple, and bacon pizza." I said.

"What?" Percy replied.

"I wasn't talking to you," I retorted.

"Then who in Poseidon's name were you talking to?"

"My plate and cup."

"Why?"

I looked at him. He had to be kidding. "How else am I supposed to get my food, Seaweed Brain?"

"Oh." He replied, obviously feeling dumb. Well, he should. Because he is. "Well, don't call me that."

I smirked. "You like it when Annabeth calls you that." I then proceeded to make kissy noises.

Yes, I'm immature. Get over it.

"And," he continued, "you shouldn't eat pizza for breakfast."

I just ignored him an spent the next ten minutes eating in silence. I love pizza. When I finished I got up and said, "Later Seaweed brain." To which he replied, "Later Seaweed Brain Jr." with a smirk. I scoffed and walked off in a huff.

Cynthia Rule #247: Percy is _not_ allowed to nickname me Seaweed Brain Jr. _Ever. _

But, seeing as Percy's invulnerable and the Hero of Olympus, there's not much I can do about it. Stupid Seaweed Brain.

"Hey Cynthia!" I heard someone scream and I turned to see my best friend Lyra Solaris waving frantically from the Apollo cabin.

I waved back and ran over to her. With a mocking smile and a small laugh I said "Hey shortie!"

Just a tip: She's fourteen and 5'2. I'm thirteen (fourteen on August 13th) and four inches taller than her.

She folded her arms over her chest and said, "Yes, I know I'm short now. So get over it and stop laughing."

"Hmm, I could, but I won't. Until you grow, you are officially shortie."

She just rolled her eyes.

When it became apparent that she wasn't going to say anything, I said, "Was there any specific reason you called me over? You seemed pretty excited."

She immediately perked up and started to laugh. "Oh, oh yeah. Oh my gods Cynthia, it was so funny. You should have been there!"

"What," I asked curious.

"The Stoll brothers. They pulled the most genius prank on the Aphrodite cabin!" She replied. "They spray painted a Mango gold and wrote "for the prettiest" on it. The Aphrodite cabin went frantic and started ripping each other's clothes and smudging their makeup. It was so freaking hilarious!"

I rolled my eyes and laughed a bit. "You would find that funny."

"No," she said. "That's not the funniest part. The Aphrodite cabin found out it was a prank by the Stoll's and now all of Connors clothes are three sizes too small, no matter how big they originated, and Travis has permanent make up all over him. And I mean PERMANENT. That junks gong to takes months to get off."

I laughed for real. "Okay, now _that's_ funny."

She smirked. "You would find that funny."

"So did you." I pointed out.

"Touché."

I stared at her and she asked, "What?"

"Since when do you use words like touché?"

"Since never, it just popped into my head."

"Uh, kay. Don't we have archery now?"

"Yeah, we do. Race you there!"

"No, wait!" I called, but she had already started running. I already told you how short she was, but let me tell you something else: that girl is freaking _fast._ 5'2, maybe. But what she lacks in altitude, she makes up for in speed. I started running after her, but it was hopeless even if I'd been the one with a head start.

She won.

"Hurry up, slowpoke!" she yelled at me.

When I got there I said, "For your information, I am NOT a slowpoke. You're just a fast poke."

"Same diff dude."

"You know, I never got that saying. If it's the same, then why would you say same _diff_? I mean, come on, it makes absolutely no sense."

"Whatever," Lyra replied

"And for your information there IS a difference. You're just fast, I'm not slow!"

"I thought we came here for archery, not to argue." She pointed out.

I sighed. "I know. I just don't like being called slow."

"And I don't like being called short."

"But you're short and I'm not slow. There's a difference."

She sighed. "Why don't we just do some archery?"

"Sure, why not." I said.

So, for the next hour we did archery. It was fun. We did a competition. Lyra won. And yes, I'm being annoyingly simple on purpose. You gotta love me though, right?

Right?

**So, like I said, not a lot of changes, a bit more dialogue, a bit changed dialogue, and it's longer. That's it.**


	2. Psychic

**********Hey, so this is the redo of this chapter. Really, theres only like two or three changes but those changes are important. Oh yes, and it's not really technically a change [okay it is but whatever] but I changed the ending. And, as I said before, this looked a lot longer when I wrote it. Again, enjoy.**

_Oh, a simple complication,_  
_Miscommunications lead to fallout,_  
_So many things that I wish that you knew_  
_So many walls up I can't break through_

_Now I'm standing alone in a crowded room_  
_And we're not speaking_  
_And I'm dyin' to know_  
_Is it killing you_  
_Like it's killing me?_  
_Yeah_  
_I don't know what to say since a twist of fate, when it all broke down_  
_And the story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now_

As you you probably tell, I was done doing archery. Okay, well I would still be doing it and not listening to Taylor Swift on Percy's iPod [just kidding, it was Annabeth's. I couldn't find mine], but I sprained my ankle. How, you ask, do you sprain your ankle doing _archery?_ Well the answer to that question would be very simple; I tripped. I thought we already covered the fact that I was a klutz? Well, if you didn't get it the first time, _then maybe it will register into that thick skull of yours this time._

If you're wondering why I didn't just get Lyra, a child of Apollo, to heal it, the answer to that is also simple; she's not that good at it. I mean, she can heal, but it wears her out and she passes out for like, a day. Even just healing a paper cut does that to her. So, for the next three days, I'm just supposed to sit around. Or so Chiron says. Does he not get the meaning of ADHD? Attention Deficit _Hyperactivity _Disorder? So, I can pretty much guarantee you that maybe I'll last another three hours before I get up.

The song changed.

_Once upon a time I was falling in love  
Now I'm only falling apart  
There's nothing I can do  
A total eclipse of the heart  
Once upon a time there was light in my life  
Now there's only love in the dark  
Nothing I can do  
A total eclipse of the heart_

Fuck this. Taylor Swift, I can stand, but _this_? I don't even know what this is. And quite frankly, I never want to know! I got up and felt a sharp pain in my right ankle, otherwise known as the sprained one. I hopped around searching for my iPod, before remembering that it was in the Hecate cabin because I lent it to Typhoon, and I knew I'd get in trouble if I actually left my cabin for anything other than meals, and I couldn't use my cell so...how the hell was I supposed to get my iPod? Suddenly, I had an epiphany, or my version of an epiphany, anyway.

I hopped over to the little fountain by the window and pulled a golden drachma out of my pocket. "O' Iris Goddess Of the Rainbow, please accept my offering", I said before flipping the coin into the mist. "Typhoon, Daughter of Hecate, Camp Half-Blood," Yeah, I know I should've been more specific like using a last name or something, but I couldn't for the life of me remember her last name and there's only one Typhoon in the Hecate cabin at Camp Half-Blood. Hell, there was only one Typhoon at Camp Half-Blood!

Suddenly Typhoon appeared in the mist, wearing her usual cutt-off jeans, bright t-shirt [green], and black thigh length sweater. Somehow she'd managed to be both goth and preppy at the same time. She hadn't noticed that I'd Iris Messaged her because she was too busy listening to _my _iPod. I coughed loudly. I coughed louder. I fucking COUGHED my lungs out to get her attention. Nothing. She didn't even flinch.

I took a deep breath before screaming "TYPHOON!"

Suddenly she jumped up and made a ninja stance. I couldn't help it; I fell over laughing.

"Who's there?" She asked. Suddenly she seemed the realize that I had Iris Messaged her, and instead of scared, she just looked plain annoyed. "Oh, Cynthia. Did you have to yell to get my attention?"

I got up and got my laughter under control before saying, "I tried coughing, but the music on _my _iPod was too loud for you to hear me."

"I'm guessing you want it back?"

"I'm guessing you used some sort of magic to know that."

"It's possible," she replied. "But no, I didn't. It was just bluntly obvious."

Whoa, Typhoon using big words? Then, I didn't know her that much. The only reason i lent her my iPod is because...she asked.

I opened my mouth to come up with some sort of comeback, but instead I found myself saying "later" before breaking off the Iris message. My head turned to the door and I knew I was having one of those I-can-sort-of-tell-the-future-though-most-times-it's-just-a-feeling-not-an-actual-vision moments. It's weird, but I get them quite often, and sometimes it _is _a vision. If only I'd foretold that I'd sprain my ankle that would have been awesome. The main thing that confused me about it was that I was a child of Poseidon. And as a general rule children of Poseidon don't usually get psychic powers. Then, Tritan, my half-bro who I happened to hate, had them so whatever.

Anyway, my head was turned to my door. Eventually, like 5 minutes later, there was a knock and my boyfriend Kieran, a son of Morpheus, came in. I felt like a smile should be on my face, because there usually was though it was normally fake, but I just couldn't bring myself to actually smile for some reason. Kieran was awesome, and rather gorgeous as anyone would tell you, but lately that spark i'd felt during our first few months of dating had just disappeared. I couldn't help it, I didn't want ton hurt him so I couldn't break up with him, but I didn't want to date him anymore either. His soft light blue eyes were smiling brightly and I forced myself to do a totally restrained quarter smile in return. He didn't seem to notice, though. He just continued to walk over to me and sat down on my bed.

"Hey, how's your ankle feeling?"

"Better" I lied.

"That's good," he replied as he leaned down to kiss me. I let him, though I barely kissed back. That was one of the many things I hated, how I could lie to Kieran so easily and he never seemed to notice it was a lie, he never saw through me

"If Chiron catches you in here, we're both dead." I said, the perfect excuse for him to leave. He opened him mouth to object, but knowing him as I did I knew what to say. "Okay, maybe not dead but in major trouble."

He closed his mouth. To my extent of knowledge he hated it when people proved him wrong but didn't mind it when I did. Or if he did then he didn't show it. Suddenly I heard a knock on the door [why didn't I foresee this?] and before I could do anything Kieran gave me a quick kiss and a murmured "I'll come see you later" before he snuck out the back door. So I guess he wasn't really sneaking out, just leaving.

You may be wondering why he snuck out. Well, it's not that people don't know that we're dating, because they do, it's just that Percy hates him for some reason. Okay, I know why he hates him. It's because during the war...well Kieran didn't exactly...he was on the Titans side. He said that he was sorry, and most believed him but still I could see where Percy was coming from. Anyway, even though I didn't like Kieran like that anymore, that didn't mean I wanted Percy to skin him alive.

The door opened and Percy walked in with Nico. Great, just great. As if reading my mind, Nico looked at me and rolled his eyes, but did little else to acknowledge my existence.

"Hey Cynthia," Percy said. '"How does it feel?"

Normally i'd've said that it hurt like Hades, because it did, but since Nico was in the room instead I said, "Like someone hacked it off with a sword."

Okay so that was an exaggeration. Nico rolled his eyes and grumbled "It's just a sprained ankle."

One of the only things I liked about Nico; I couldn't lie to him, even when i wasn't talking directly to him. He always saw through me. Wait a minute..."How did you know I sprained my ankle?" It was underneath the blanket and neither me nor Percy specified what part of me was hurt.

His pale face suddenly went red. I crinkled my forehead in confusion, there was no need for him to be embarrassed. I was just curious. "I have to go." he said suddenly and bolted out the door without answering my question.

"What's up with him?" I asked.

"Oh nothing," Percy said casually. But I could tell he was lying to me. He knew something I didn't.

And I swear I was going to find out what it is even if it kills me. Which it won't. Percy is honestly the easiest person i've ever tailed without them noticing. Now, I just need my ankle to heal before I can atually follow him...great.


	3. Sarcasm

**Hii****. Please, don't throw rotten fruit at me while booing! I'm so very sorry I know I haven't updated in forever and my updates have been crappy, but I have a surprise! Since I haven't updated in forever, this chapter is my longest chapter yet, asnd honestly i've been working on it for weeks, trudging through my writers block. I don't think it's the best but I wanted to update so I hope you do(: Okay, I'll admit it, it's more of a drabble than anything else. Wait no, a drabble is short so...the opposite of a drabble! So what are you waiting for? Go read this super long chapter/opposite 'o drabble!**

Thank Apollo for the more...talented children of Apollo, for a lack of a better word. I mean, I love Lyra and all, but she couldn't heal a paper cut. Thankfully her sister Kylah happened to have the blessed healing ability of Apollo himself. Seriously, she glows sunset orange like 24/7 with his blessing. Ergo, when I was visiting Lyra, she made an offer I couldn't refuse; she'd heal it in return for nothing.

That was yesterday. Honestly, I'd begun milking the sprained ankle. I got to not go to the lessons i hate and go to the lessons I love without anyone saying anything! Alas, it couldn't go on forever. Therefore, I decided not to pretend it still hurt and just admit Kylah had healed it. Anyway, moving on to more important things. Nico has officially annoyed the Hades out of me. It fits, seeing as his father _is_ Hades. I don't knows whats up with him, I run into him _once _just...okay maybe twice...well there was that one time a month ago...okay, I've run into him numerous times pretty much everyday...didn't we cover this? Anyway, so what? I've run into pretty much everyone at camp at _least_ seven times. I'm a horrible klutz and everyone seems to have accepted this. Everyone except for Nico, that is. I'm a klutz and he just has to deal with it.

Ever since the little apparently embarrassing situation, for Nico anyway, in my cabin yesterday, Nico had apparently decided to take it into his hands to annoy me every chance he got. He saw me walk out of my cabin, he made a comment about how I was limping, I insult him way worse than that, I walk out of the Apollo cabin, a snide comment about how I _obviously_ dyed my hair. What do I look like? A child of Aphrodite? That wasn't even worth a retort. But for the record, but hair save the blue streak is completely natural! Okay...so maybe I care a bit. But only because pretty much every Aphrodite camper has said _something _about how the hair they've so nicely commented on how beautiful it is on numerous occasion [heinous but true] was fake the whole time, and it was cruel of me to make them think otherwise. My friend Ella from the Aphrodite cabin looked so hurt, until I straightened it out with her. Unfortunately her siblings didn't even believe her when she said my hair was natural except for the streak, which no one ever believed was real.

So basically now i'm laying lazily in my bed having skipped the morning lessons, deciding that I need some fresh air. I got up and almost walked out of my cabin before I realized what I was wearing; an _extremely_ low cut tank top and a pair of...boxers. Oh. My. Fucking. Gods. I don't even _own _boxers. So who...aw gross they're probably Percys! What? Don't judge me I was almost asleep when I got to the cabin and changed into sleepwear last night! I probably thought they were my sleeping shorts. Ugh, but _gross. _It's Percys friggen underwear! I tore them off as quick as I could, thankful to see I'd accidentally kept my jean shorts from last night on. I ripped those off and put on a fresh pair of longer knee length cut-off skinny jeans. I took my shirt off and threw on a camp Half-Blood one on. I looked at the clock to see if I could possibly make lunch, and thankfully I could, because I was _starving_. As I searched my drawers for a pair of socks I thought about what lessons I missed; archery, stable cleaning (thank _gods _I missed that one), and sword fighting. I figured I might as well make an appearance, seeing as I had Pegasus riding after lunch, and I absolutely _loved _Blackjack, though he annoyingly insisted on calling me 'boss' or 'lord'. Does he not get that I am _not_ Poseidon? I am not his boss nor his lord. I shook my head to clear it of all thoughts of being a boss, and looked over at my "Sarcasm; confusing people since 1869" poster and laughed.

On that last thought, I put on my socks and pulled on my violet converse and opened the door to see early afternoon sunlight pouring across the camp. It wasn't blinding, not like it had been yesterday, but instead beautiful. Ugh, listen to me. I sound like a child of Apollo. I head across camp, walking instead of running so I wouldn't collide with anyone else today. It took me about seven minutes to get to the dining pavilion, as opposed to the usual 3 minutes it took me when I was sprinting. When I got there I saw the dryads had already handed out the food, not like it was a tragedy or anything. Pretty much the whole reason for having enchanted plates and cups was just in case you missed the dryads handing out the food. I saw Percy at the Poseidon table already and walked over and sat down.

"Hey," I said. Before he could respond I told my plate I wanted popcorn, so it turned into a bowl and filled with popcorn, and my cup I wanted a milkshake. Strawberry, not that vanilla or chocolate crap. Yes, I did love chocolate, but honestly? Strawberry pones chocolate. According to milkshakes, anyway. I turned to Percy and I could see he didn't approve my choice of drink.

As if on cue to my thoughts, Percy said "You really shouldn't be having a milkshake. They're not very health-"

"Dude," I cut him off. "You're having a triple Decker burger and coke. I'm pretty sure popcorn and a milkshake is _much_ more healthy than _that_."

He blushed and I smirked. My smirk only lasted for a moment before I saw, guess who, Nico walking over. He stopped in front of Percy and said, "Hey Perce, I kind of need your advice on something."

Before Percy could respond, though, I butted in. "Sorry Nico di Lamo," What? I couldn't help but make fun of him. He was only too teasable. " We children of Poseidon aren't really very good at giving out advice. May I interest you in a sarcastic comment?"

He scowled at me. "Nobody asked you Cynthia."

"Yeah well..." I stopped and slowly chewed my popcorn, thinking. "prepare to cower at my invincible powers of irony and sarcasm!"

Nico just stood there. "What?"

"I 'unno I didn't know what to say," I said with a shrug.

"You are one strange girl, you know that Cynthia?"

I cocked my head and smirked. "I pride myself on my strangeness, di Angelo."

He rolled his eyes. "There has got to be something wrong with you. Either that or you have a problem with me. 'Cause for the last three months, you've ran into me, you've insulted me, you've make sarcastic comments, where does it end?"

I smirked. "Aw, that's cute. You think it's just you I run into, insult, and make sarcastic comments at. No. I do that to pretty much everybody." I thought for a second. "Okay, maybe I don't insult _everybody_ but I don't insult you that much either."

He just shook his head. "You also have a terrible perspective of things."

"Yeah, I'm sarcastic and I have a smart ass attitude. It's my natural defense against drama, bullshit, and stupidity, and quite frankly I don't give a fuck if your offended." I replied.

"Or maybe you're just bipolar," Percy butted in staring at me. "'Cause you don't act like this with _anyone_ except Nico."

"Maybe that's because I get along with pretty much everyone but Nico." I said staring at Nico as if it was somehow his fault. To be truthful, I knew it wasn't his fault. Sure, he overreacted when I ran into him and seemed to be think-skulled enough to not realize that I'm just a klutz, but still. I was usually the one to start the sarcastic comments and insults. I couldn't help it, though. I'd tried to restrain myself before and it just didn't work. Something about him just irked me enough to try and annoy him as much as he [unintentionally] annoyed me. At least, I think it was unintentional anyway.

You know, the more I think about it, the more unlikely it seems that it could have been unintentional. I mean, I don't think he meant to annoy me as much as he did. On numerous occasions i've mentioned how me and Nico never talk, but now that i think about it, that's a lie. We spoke quite often, though it was normally Nico teasing me and me making a retort. A more harsh retort than necessary, admittedly. I mean, most of Nico's teasings were just that; a friendly tease, nothing more. Mine were more like...unintentional malicious insults.

_I stepped out of the Big House after being asked to show a new demigod around, and refusing for the millionth time; it's not that I didn't want to, it's just that i'd done it so many times...my eyes sweeped over the camp and I saw Nico lurking in the shadows of the Big House. I almost blushed, for I run into him often, but I don't blush. I decided to just ignore him in hopes he wouldn't notice me, but no such luck. He left the shadows and jogged so he was beside me. __"Oh my oh my is that a pimple I see? He asked teasingly. I fumed, because i knew I had a pimple on my forehead, and yes I knew it was huge, but I couldn't pop it because it would leave a scar!_

_I thought quickly of ways to annoy him, but instead of a witty annoying retort, something else came out. Something evil and malicious. __"Yes, it is. Is that the mark of an unwanted orphan I see on your arm? Oh, it's just a battle scar. My bad."_

_His face went red, and he quickly muttered "I'm not technically an orphan."_

_I snorted. "Ha! You're as close as it gets," I stopped and turned to him. "If the Gods could disown their children, Hades would before you could even say unwanted. He always preferred your sister, anyway. And I can see why."_

_I could see I went too far with that one, because even though it's been 3 years, the scars are still there. And there always will be. Nico was now fuming, and looked more angry and dangerous than a non-friendly hellhound. "YOU DON'T KNOW _ANYTHING _ABOUT MY SISTER OR ME!_

_My smirk fell and I took a moment to register all i'd said, and tears began to form in my eyes, thinking of Bianca and how nice she'd been. I quickly tried to wipe away the tears without Nico noticing. I could tell he did, though, because his face softened. "Oh but I do." I whispered._

_I heard turned around and ran away. I ran and ran trying to run from my problems...just like I always did._

Most people thought I was more of a fighter, mainly because of my sarcastic comments and how I never ran from a fight, but really I wasn't. Sure, I loved a good fight, as long as the odds of winning were in my favour or if it was just with someone who I knew wouldn't really hurt me, but honestly I run from all of my problems. I ran when they told us that Kronos was back, I ran when they told me I might never get the use of my arm again, after the Titan war (luckily Apollo decided to mega-bless Kylah on that very day and now my arms fine), I ran when my first boyfriend broke up with me. I ran when I found out Bianca died. And I ran when I found out my parents had lied to me about my father.

I looked down, ashamed tears beginning to form in my eyes. It was my fault, all my fault. I looked up to see that Nico and Percy were looking at me confused, as they should be. I mean, who goes from over-confidently insulting someone to helplessly crying in 5 minutes. Maybe I really am bipolar..."I have to go." I said before getting up and running. I ran for no reason, I'd already run as far as I could from this problem, and it wasn't going anywhere. They were never going anywhere again...never. I ran until I was deep in the woods, far enough for Chiron to tell us it was too dangerous, to dangerous even for him to go there.

Suddenly the forest opened to a clearing. I turned around, surprised. You couldn't even see where i'd entered, and I pushed slightly against where I had; the branches and leaves moved so there was an opening. I let go, and turned around, curious. It looked like a safe haven, and a beautiful one at that. It was a grassy meadow, with flowers of every bright color imaginable, the sky a deep shade of moonlight blue, the grass too bring a green. And near the end of the meadow, there was an enormous lake, a bright shade of blue. I looked around. Everything was perfect, too perfect, it was almost...fake. The colors were too bright, the sun shone a little too much, and when i touched the lake it was the perfect temperature. I know I sound paranoid, but you don't go through a war without becoming just a little bit suspicious and paranoid.

I heard a rustling of the leaves behind me and I ripped off my sword necklace and suddenly there was a celestial bronze sword in my hands, and I knew there would be. When whatever rustled the leaves entered though, I saw it was just Nico. I put the sword to my throat and he looked panicked for a second before it turned into the necklace, then his face revealed that he felt stupid, considering Percy had the same thing only in pen-form.

He walked over to me and I said, "What are you doing here?"

"I came looking for you, you looked really sad..." He trailed off, "What are _you_ doing here? How did you even find this place?"

"I just...ran. It's what I do. And why do you care if I looked sad?" He had to reason to care; I really was a bitch to him. I sighed and sat down suddenly, obviously surprising him. He sat down beside me, and I noticed his face was a little pink. Why did he always blush at the simplist of questions? He didn't answer me, though. He didn't have to.

We sat there in silence for a few minutes before he said, "What do you mean that's what you do?"

I looked up at him, startled. "Huh?"

"You said running i what you do, but i've never seen you run from a fight." he replied.

I looked at the lake and whispered, "That's what everyone thinks. But I run when it counts."

"You didn't run in the war," he said softly, and I didn't even bother asking him how he knew that. He'd just blush again. "That counts."

I sat there, trying to decide whether to reply or not. I guess...I guess I will. "I ran when it counted the most. I ran when I found out that man I thought was my father really wasn't."

He looked confused. "No offense, but how is that what counts the most?"

I could feel the tears forming in my eyes again, so I pulled my knees to my chest and rested my forehead against them to hide it. Apparently I didn't do a very good job though, because suddenly I heard Nico say "Don't cry, I-I was just wondering..."

I lifted my head and sniffled a bit. "It's not that it's just...it's my fault, all my fault." I knew what Nico was going to ask, what's your fault?, so I just decided to answer him before he could ask. It all just sort of...spilled out. All the things I'd never told anyone, and now i'm telling someone who i don't get along with. At all. "They were looking for me...if I hadn't of run they wouldn't have...oh it's all my fault, why did I have to run? Why did I have to be such a coward? They said once i knew my scent would become stronger...why didn't I think of them thinking I was still home? It's where my scent is the most, the strongest except for where I actually was, and there's no _way_both a hellhound and a minotaur would have fit _there_. They should've found me...if they'd have found me my parents...they wouldn't have died."

I knew I couldn't have been making much sense, talking as fast as I was and the tears clouding my words. But somehow I knew he understood, both what i was saying and what i was going through. "At least...at least you knew them." he said, and I couldn't tell if he was trying to make me feel better or worse. One look at his face and I knew it was the latter.

I looked around and suddenly curiosity overcame my sadness, as it always did. I had my natural defenses, sarcasm as a retort to bullshit, hyperness to make it seem as if i'm not sad, and curiosity to take my mind off of what's making me sad. Curiosity, this time, lead me to wonder if this place was dangerous and, if so, whether or not Nico knew why. I looked at him and said, "This place is dangerous, isn't it?"

He semed to think about it. "It...depends. The lake, it's a prison of sorts."

"A prison?"

"Mmhmm. For naiads. As you probably know, a naiad can't go far from the water. There were exact measurements made so that the can't leave the area. It's not technically a prison, because they wouldn't be able to leave anyway, but it is a safe and contained area for them. I think the only reason they haven't attacked us yet is because you're a daughter of Poseidon."

"Oh," I said, almost silently. I got up and brushed the grass off of my shorts. I yawned a bit and turned to him. "I think i'm gonna go...Pegasus riding is starting soon."

He nodded but made no move to leave. I cocked my head. "Won't the naiads attack you if you stay here?"

"Mmhmm," he replied, though I realized he was no longer listening. Though it seemed we understood each other much better, here was absolutely no way we were friends, maybe acquaintances, but that didn't stop me from kicking him - hard I might add - in the side of his leg to get his attention. He jerked out of his fantasy land and glared at me. "What was that for?"

"That was me saving your life. You weren't going to move on your own, and if I leave - which I am - then the naiads will attack and you will most likely either die or become seriously injured."

"Oh." he said as he had done a few minutes beforehand.

I sighed and didn't even bother to reply. I just walked away and out of the clearing, not certain if i'd ever return or not. I trusted Nico to have followed me, mostly because I could hear him behind me. Almost immediately after leaving the clearing there was a sudden burst of coldness and he was gone, most likely through shadow travel, which I hoped upon hoped was what the cold was. I thought about how I'd gone from sarcastic, to insulting, to apologetic, to sentimental, to understanding, to sarcastic all over within the same hour.

I guess Nico di Angelo really _did_bring out the bipolar side of me after all.


	4. Running, Running

**Okay, so I felt so bad for not updating that ta-da! Another update on the same day, though this one is _much_shorter. Unfortunately, updates might be few and far between again because i've decided to make a story that's pretty much a series of random PJO oneshots, but mostly NicoxPercy, seeing as them together to me is. Pure. Fluff. Cuteness! I like them much better than Percabeth, but it really doesn't matter. That ones mostly just for free writting as this story, and pretty much every single story of mine, is. It doesn't really matter how many reviews I get, I just write to write. It's just reviews prompt me to write more. Oh yes and I know I write like every chapter is a day or two but it only covers so much but that's because, in my mind at least, all she does other than what I write is train, eat, and sleep, which is very boring. If there's something going on, i'll write it. Oh and yes, amazing, what happens in this chapter actually begins to _build a plot, _though it is admittedly very short, as I so bluntly mentioned before...**

**_Hope you enjoy(:_**

* * *

Even after a few days work of honestly _trying_ to understand Nico, even after I already understood him a bit, he _still_ annoyed the hell out of me.

I mean, seriously. You'd think we get along perfectly fine, like there was some kind of truce back at the Naiad Prison, but _no_. Pretty much the only difference now is that I don't do malicious insults anymore, instead I make fun of him like he makes fun of me. Only he makes fun of me more frequently, every time I pass by, when we're at meals (Hades table sits next to Poseidon's), during training, _every freaking moment we're together._I swear, he seeks me out just to make fun of me. And I'm. Not. _Paranoid._

Okay maybe a little.

So, to take my mind off of how paranoid I am, I decided to give into Lyra's annoying tenacy to try and get me to write poetry and write a small totally un-poetic type poem to satisfy her so that she would shut up about it. All because within the first week of me coming to camp I wrote _one_damn poem. I grabbed one of my notebooks I use for my Greek Mythology class Annabeth teaches me, and once again thanked the Gods that I was one of the few demigods who don't have dyslexia. I took out a bright green marker (What? Couldn't find a pen.) and thought for a moment. I decided to make it all about _fabulous _me and I started messily scrawling what I hoped was a poem across the page. When I was done with it I ripped it out of the notebook and folded it before I shoved it into my pocket. I'd barely thought of what I wrote, just scrawling out the truth, so that I didn't even remember what was on the page. I'm not sure I want to, though I'd of course have to re-read it so that I could give it to Lyra without any...spills.

I hastily changed the subject of my thoughts, though apparently fate didn't want me to forget, because just then the door opened and Kieran stumbled in.

"_Shit_," I cursed, wondering why I couldn't have foreseen this. Why did I _never_ foresee it when this happened?

"H-helllloo Cyynthiaaaa." He stuttered and slurred as I rolled my eyes in disgust. _Obviously _he'd suckered some stupid child of Hermes to steal him liquor. Again. I got up, knowing what to expect and hoping desperately that Percy would walk in, because if things were like usual, two of Kierans siblings we're guarding the back door and Kieran was blocking the front. "W-wanna have some fuuuun?"

I looked around panickly, though instead of showing that panic I worked hard to keep my face emotionless and my voice void of all emotion. "Not with you I don't. How many times do I have to-"

"Break up with me?" He said, a slow malicious smile spreading across his face, his voice suddenly stable. "Until I get the point? You see that's my favorite part, Cynthia. How you always, always try and remain calm. And for the most part you appear calm. You really, really do. But it's your eyes," he reached up and stroked near my eyes and I flinched away. "...it's your eyes that betray the panic that lies beneath the surface."

This was going to be a long day.

* * *

I pulled my black hoodie over my long sleeved shirt and t-shirt, trying to cover up as much of my self as I could, not wanted anyone to see any part of me at the moment, as I wouldn't for weeks to come, I knew. I had already been in my only pair of non cut-off skinny jeans, so I didn't even bother changing out of them. I sat down on the bed by the door, my current 'Wednesday' one. I didn't know why but I liked to have a different bed every day of the week, and even I knew it was strange. Percy just told me to never choose his bed during the year, to which i'd both agreed to and already disregarded. Twice. I grabbed my gray knee-high converse and unzipped them. I had to move slowly, because every single _fucking_ movement hurt, so it took my about ten minutes to get them on, and they had a zipper.

I slowly got up and opened the door, glad to find that the sunset had already started, dimming the light everywhere. Despite the late hour, there were still a few stragglers hanging around before going to the campfire. So that they wouldn't notice, I headed toward the campfire waving to a few friends, trying to appear as normal as possible. But as soon as I was out of sight I retreated into the woods as I knew I would, as I always have. only this time instead of aimlessly roaming the woods crying, I actually had a destination in mind. The nymphs prison. There was no chance of anyone being there, and i'd been caught running around the woods too many times to get caught, and the only person who even _might_ be around there is Nico and even then, I didn't think he'd be there unless he was _absolutely positive_i'd be there. So I ran there. Looking around during the night, it was even more peaceful and beautiful, and there was an even bigger sense of false-perfection. The sunset was beautiful, however. So I sat back and tried to enjoy the peace and quiet, I honestly did. But I can only hold back the tears so long.

"What's wrong?"


	5. Loopholes Upon Loopholes

**Ooh lookie here, it's another update(: I know I said I wouldn't for a while, but I still feel really bad for not updating in a long time and the last one and this are pretty short anyway. All credit for Jill goes to the amazing BrightBlueConverse for allowing me to use her in my story. My sincerest apologies for possibly making her slightly OOC.**

**Hope you like it(:**

I shot up and spun around much too quickly, as once I stopped moving the world tilted and I doubled over from the pain. I had to sit down as my world threatened to turn upside down and dump me on the ground if I didn't do it myself. The person who had found me and quite possibly seen the bruises seeing as my shirts flew up and my jacket was off when I spun around was Jillian Mistero, Daughter of Athena. I quickly pulled my shirts down and cursed the gods for letting _her_ of all people find me. Sure, we were pretty good friends, great friends even, seeing as i'd trust her with my life, but she was also the most stubborn girl I knew. There was no way i'd convince her not to tell Chiron what's been happening now that she knew.

I looked over at her and her blue-grey eyes, the color of the sky after a major thunderstorm, were full of a calculating sort of concern. She was so very obviously, to me anyway, thinking of every possibility as to how I hurt myself other than the obvious. I suppose Jill, like every other person in this world, wants to believe there is no harm in the world. Unfortunately, we both know there is and we just have to deal with it. I looked around, trying to avoid her eyes knowing they would draw the truth out of me, and at the moment I truly believed I might have a fighting chance, no matter how slim it was. Figurativly of course; at the moment little 6 your old Andi in the Hypnos cabin could defeat me in a battle, and all they're known for is sleeping. And restoring memories, but whatever.

Jill stepped forward and reached carefully for my arm. I decided to let her as any form of resistance at this point would only cause me furthur pain. She rolled up my sleeves and gasped. I looked away, ashamed though I wasn't quite sure why; _I_ hadn't done anything wrong. But still, the shame filled me and i'm sure showed on my face. "Cynthia..." I heard her gasp out. "What...who...how long...?" She could barely seem to spit out a proper sentence, which was very unusual for this particular child of Athena.

I decided to answer how long. "Since about a week after I got here...klutzy me." I muttered with a half-hearted laugh.

She shot me a look and I could tell she wasn't buying it. Well she should. I _was_ a klutz after all, so I muttered "I never said the bruises came from me being a klutz."

She sighed. "This isn't a time for joking, Cynthia. Who is it?"

I gently took my arm from her in a manner that wouldn't hurt me at all, and ignoring her last question I whispered, "My only options are to either joke around or break down crying; I choose the former."

"_Who did this to you?"_

Sad tears formed in my eyes as I allowed myself to say it for the first time; "Kieran." She obviously expected more, so I continued. "Since about a month after we started dating, he...he get's the Hermes kids to get him alcohol and he get's drunk and he um...I don't need to say it, do I?"

Jill shook her head and said, "Not right now you don't," in a soft tone that make it so completely obvious that she thought that I _would _break down any moment. Well, as usual she was right, and just this once I didn't mind that. "We should get you back to your cabin, Percy's having a feild day."

"Hm?" I asked confused.

"Cynthia, it's 2 in the morning, you've been missing for hours. Everyones been looking for you, me, Percy, Connor, Annabeth, Will, Travis, Nico, Chiron, _everybody_."

I rolled my eyes at the thought of Nico not knowing i'd come here. I guess he thought i'd be afraid or something. As if. Okay, so it was a little creepy, just a tiny bit. "okay, just one thing." I hesitated, wondering how she'd react to my request. "Don't tell anybody about...this." I said motioning around my body.

Jill narrrowed her eyes. "Cynthia we have to tell Chiron."

"And I will," I added hastily. "I'll tell him and everyone else. When i'm ready. Right now i'm not. But when I am ready, I will tell them. They need to hear it from me, preferrably when I have a better chance of _not_ breaking down and crying uncontrollably."

Jill hesitated before nodding slowly. I smiled a bit before saying, "I guess we should get back..."

So we wlked back to the camp in silence, Jill having a comforting arm around me. As soon as we got to the clearing, I was bombarded. The only thing I registered was Percy wrapping his too-strong arms around me in a hug and crushing me to death, bringing tears to my eyes. I wasn't in the best condition right now, and Percy wasn't making it any better. He put his head on mine, and I knew he was only worried, but I wanted him off _now._

Jill seemed to notice the extreme pain I was in, because she put a guiding hand on Percys shoulder and said, "Percy you're crushing the living daylights out of her."

H nodded and let me go, but he wouldn't leave my side for the rest of the night. Everyone kept coming up and asking me what in Hades name I though I was doing, but I noticed that Nico held back. I didn't know why but this bothered me for some reason. He have me attention at every moment except when attention was appropiate?

Apparently he was just bidding his time. As soon as I convinced everyone to go to bed, including Percy though he hadn't looked happy about it and it took a promise of me getting, ah, escorted back by Chiron to get him to leave. I told Chiron, however, that I wanted to be alone and I swore the the River Styx that I wouldn't leave the cabin area, so he let me be and ordered the harpies to leave me alone. I sat down and he materalized at my side.

"What in Hades name were you _thinking_ going back there? No one could find you, and it was a total conincidence Jill did."

"That's the whole point," I muttered my head rested against the fire Hestia tended that I was resting upon, as it was currently unlit.

He shook his head. "The only reason I didn't come after you sooner is the naiads will barely tolerate anyone but Children of the Sea God, even if there is one of them there, They probably would've attacked me."

"Mmhmm." I barely breathed out, streaching, almost being lulled to sleep by the warmness of the night.

It took 4 little words to jerk me to alertness, hurting my stomach int he process. "What did you _do_?"

"Tripped," I said automatically. "I've run into enough times for you to know i'm a klutz, correct But I should go back to bed. Like now."

I got up fast enough to make me dizzy again but I didn't care this time I just ran to my cabin, but of course with my luck I didn't make it there. Someone stopped me, as my heart stopped when I saw them.

It was Kieran.

I gasped and tried desperatly to get away, but I couldn't. I turned around and realized I was surrounded. I didn't even try and put up a strong front, I let the panic show on my face as I turned around, hoping Nico was there but he wasn't. I panicked for a moment until I felt myself being pulled away from reality and the warmth of the night into endless coldness. I found myself in the underworld. I shuddered thinking of stupid dreams i'dhad of me here...

I turned and saw Nico had shadow travelled me here. I sighed. "Look, Nico I appreciate you shadow travelling me out of there, but I really didn't need any help. I was handeling everything perfectly fine. So could you just shadow travel...me...back. Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because I have no idea what you're talking about. I shadow travelled you here so we wouldn't be interrupted while you told me what the hell you were doing back there." he responded.

I shivered. "And you couldn't have done that somewhere else?" as an after thought I added, "and i'm not telling you."

He shrugged. "Fine. Then we're not leaving."

My eyes harnded as I formed a plan. My voice was ice-cold when I said, "Fine. But you have to swear by the River Styx," it's churning got louder in the background, "that after I tell you you will _take us back_."

You know what the moron did? He didn't even think about it, he just swore without a second bloody though. i shook my head, almost feeling guilty for my dubious plan. Almost.

"Fine. I was running away again. Now take me home," I said with a smirk. I'd told him what I was doing back there, now he _had_ to take me back. He glared at me before shadow traveling us back.

I smiled and waved before running back to my cabin. It was only after I got back that I felt the full aftermath of the pain, but I had to put on a strong front, I had to act like I was all right. For Percy. I smiled at him when I got in, grabbing pajama bottoms and a long sleeved shirt and changing into them in the bathroom. When I got back I turned to him and said, "I'm just going to go to bed."

My 'sleep' lasted about ten minutes before Nico travelled us back to the underworld. The little basterd found a loophole in the loophole.


	6. Psychotic Dreams

**Hello there(: Lookie, another update. I still feel bad for not updating for months, so here you go. Oh yeah, and i'm _so_ sorry for how short the chapters have been. Hope you like it(:**

I officially hate Nico di Angelo.

Okay, so maybe I don't _hate_ him per sae, but that doesn't mean I have to like him either. I mean the nerve of the guy, finding a loophole in my loophole! Sure, he kept his end of the bargan by bringing me back to camp, but he also dragged me right back to the Underworld! But I didn't go without a fight! NO, I went kicking and screaming. I bit I fought I...okay, so actually I went asleep, and dead to the world. When I arrived in the Underworld for the second time that day a slight, sudden chill swept through me waking me up. I sat up and saw Nico standing there, a cruel expression on his face. He nodded ever so slightly behind me a split second before I was picked up off the ground and it - whatever _it_ was - flew up about 50 feet before dropping me. I lay in a heap on the ground, and I couldn't help think that this was a million times worse than what Kieran had done to me. I looked over at Nico but he hadn't moved, the only change in his cruel demeanor was an amused smirk on his face. I had to admit that I was shocked; Nico and I had our differences but I never expected him to just stand there and watch me slowly die.

Well apparently the game plan wasn't to let me die slowly. The things, which I now realize were the furies, came over and picked me up through my back, literally; Tisiphone picked me up with her claws _through my bloody skin_. I screamed bloody murder but Nico just stood there, and seemed to grow more amused by the minute. He nodded and they dropped me again, and I realized his previous nod hadn't been a warning that came too late, but a signal to attack. Even as a healf dead, filthy, bloody heap on the ground I used all of my remaining energy to stare daggers at him. I mean seriously, if looks could kill I like to think Nico would've dropped dead right about now.

But instead of dropping dead a look of extreme panic spead across his face. He ran over to me and started shaking me gently, as if to try and wake me up. Well, apparently I was right. "Wake up...Cynthia wake up...please wake up...Oh Gods dammit Cynthia, wake up!" I heard Nico yell in frustration, but it didn't seem as if it was coming from him. Like, his mouth wasn't moving. At all. I felt something start clawing at me and heard Nico swear before he got up to attack the furies. I looked over to where Nico had first been, and saw he was still there, a shocked look on his face. I looked to where i'd previously thought Nico had moved to, but he was there too, killing the furies as easily as if he'd done it a million times before. Then...what was I? Hallucinating? No, i'm _not_ crazy, I refuse to believe i'm going insane. Deep down, though, I wondered if I was only kidding myself.

Turns out I wasn't, because a moment later the Underworld dissapeared and I sat up, hitting Nico's head in the process of doing so.

"Ow!" we both yelled simutaniously. I was so happy to see that he wasn't trying to kill me that I hugged him. When i'd realized what i'd done, however, I let go and mumbled a lame sorry; he didn't seem to care, though. I looked at him more closly, slowly getting over the inital shock that it had all been a dream. I couldn't help but wonder as I looked at Nico, would he have been the one trying to help me or the one attacking? I sighed, hoping desperatly that it was the former, but secretly terrified that it was the latter. I shuddered when I felt Percy come over and crush me in the second bone-breaking hug of the night. Apparently Percy didn't get that along with invincibility, he was also freakishly _strong. _Even if the pain from the dream had been face, the pain from earlier was still fresh, and I imagine the bruises more notic-

"Cynthia what's on your cheekbone? It looks like a bruise, and it looks fresh too. I didn't see it before..."

I shuddered. THe worst had happened; Percy had noticed. Now came the obvious; I had to lie through my teeth. I quickly came up with an excuse, and it wasn't very hard. "Oh, I tripped," I said laughing breathlessly, though it sounded fake, even to me. "You know me, i'm _such _a klutz."

Neither Nico nor Percy looked convinced, but it's not like the immediate assumption would be that i'm being abused, so they had no choice but to believe me. I _was_ a klutz after all; Nico knew that first hand. The best kind of lie was one that held truth. I looked over at Nico curiously and said, "What are you doing here? I mean, not to be rude but seriously it's 3:56 in the morning."

Nico shrugged. "You were screaming bloody murder and Percy couldn't wake you up so he panicked and came and got me."

Great, I was going to be forced into possibly offending him again. " Yet again, no offense, but why would Percy go get _you_? I mean, we barely know eachother."

He hesitated. "Cynthia, what did i do?"

I furrowed my brow in confusion and stared the both of them, Percy having _finally_ let go of me, in naive confusion. "I don't know what you mean...you didn't do anything..."

"Cynthia..." Percy whispered. "You were screaming 'Why Nico why in Hades name would you do this' over and over again..."

I blushed a deep red and saw that Nico was blushing too. Long thing to scream in your sleep; a simple mumbled 'why oh why' would have sufficed. "So...what did I do?"

I looked at him, a mixture of sadness and wiseness on my face (which was a surprise to me, I never though of myself as 'wise' but that's how Nico later said I looked so...), all confusion gone. "You saved my life, but at the same time you left me there to die."


	7. Teensy Weensy Little Microscopic Crushes

**Hello, readers. How are you? Me? I just got over the flu. Hey that rhymed! Heh, things that rhyme are godly. To me, anyway. Moving on...I would've updated sooner, but I wrote this a few days ago, got the flu, came back to post it and realized that it hadn't saved . So, here you go, newly written and...You know its 7:52 in the morning right now and I **_**still **_**haven't gone to sleep yet. I need coffee...Sorry, my ADHD brains wandering a bit. Just too clear up confusion: The long pointless italic part is a flashback! Haha I hope you enjoy(:**

I sat in my bed, iPod blasting with Break Myself by Something Corporate trying to forget the events that took place last night. This naturally means that I couldn't forget it. It just keeps replaying over and over again in my mind...

_"You saved my life, but at the same time you left me there to die."_

_"What? How is that even possible?" Nico asked, looking both shocked and confused. "Tell us what happened, exactly. It might help me to understand..."_

_So, upon the request of the Great and Famous Nico di Angelo (insert the rolling of the eyes here followed with immature fake barfing) I described in excruciating detail - or excruciating for me, anyway. I didn't really want to relive it - what happened in the dream. When I'd both Nico and I sat there silently, listening while Percy suggested about 50 theories a minute about what the dream could have meant. Actually, I was almost positive I knew what the meaning of the dream was; and I didn't like it. Not one bit, which is why I wasn't exactly volunteering the information. Of my own free will, anyway. I didn't like it because it meant that Nico would possibly betray me. No, wait, Nico couldn't betray me; in order for one to betray another there would have had to have been an established trust to begin with. And quite frankly, I didn't trust Nico, no offense to him. It's just we barely know each other and I'm not exactly quick to trust and...Okay so maybe I trust him a bit. Just a teeny weenie little bit._

_"Cynthia?"_

_"Huh?" I asked, breaking my train of thought._

_"I asked you what you thought about it." Percy said, looking at me worriedly. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I knew I'd been acting a little bit depressed and a lot strange, but I hadn't realized how it'd been affecting Percy; he looked worried to death._

_"About what?" I asked stupidly, really not helping the whole Percy-is-extremely-worried thing._

_"About your dream." Percy said looking, as I'd expected, more worried than ever._

Well of course he meant the dream; what else could it have been, dear?_ I heard someone say, someone female. I looked around for the source of the voice, but when I didn't see anyone but Percy and Nico I decided I'd imagined it until I heard the voice again. _No, you didn't imagine it. Here I am! _I heard the voice laugh and I realized the voice was just for me; it was inside my...my head. Great, now I'm hearing voices. Oh no, Percy _can't _find out; it would just shred the little ray of hope he has left that I might maintain some level of sanity._

_"Oh...well," I said, dragging out the word well._

Oh, come _on_ Cynthia; you know what the dream meant, just tell them. Poor Percy looks so worried...

_Shut up, I told the, ah, voice. You're probably just some goddess screwing with me._

I can assure you, honey, than I am not 'screwing' with you. I'm here to help.

_"Cynthia!" I heard Percy and Nico yell simultaneously._

_"What?" I asked._

_"You zoned out again," Nico said, looking almost as worried as Percy._

_"Oh sorry...Um..." I licked my lips. "I think I might know what the dream might have been about. Um, if I'm right, then it could be one of two things: It could have been two possibly futures, one in which Nico saves me and another where he betrays me." I sent him an apologetic look, both for what I'd just said and what I was about to say. "Or it could be that Nico is going to betray me in a way that could get me killed somehow, and then he'll save me before I die."_

It's the first one dearie. It is the first one, of that I am positive.

_Shut up._

_"Cynthia...I won't..." Nico looked at me with pleading eyes, looking heartbroken that I would even suggest such a thing. I looked down to hide the tears that were forming in my eyes._

_"I-I need some sleep." I mumbled._

_"Okay...I'll leave." Nico said, still looking hurt. _

_Just as he was about to open the door I said, "Nico?"_

_He turned around to face me. "Yeah?"_

_"Just...for the record, I think it's the two possible futures, and that you wouldn't betray me."_

_I smiled a bit. "Thanks."_

_I nodded at him and he left without another word. Percy turned to me and said, "Are you sure you're okay?"_

_"Yeah," I lied. "I'm just really tired. Long day."_

_"Okay," he said, not sounding convinced. "Just wake me up if you need anything, alright?"_

_Percy went to bed after that, and I laid down and rolled over, covering myself with my blacked, which had fallen off, thinking there was no way I was going to sleep._

So yeah, now I'm just sitting here blasting music. Just me, myself, and the stupid voice that refuses to shut up no matter how many times I tell it to.

_I am _not_ stupid, nor am I an it. I have a name, you know._

Well, if you're to going to tell me that name, then I am going to continue to call you either the voice or it! Seriously, I have been trying to get you to tell me, you know!

_Now dearie, what fun would it be if I just told you? You have to guess!_

Will you tell me if I'm right?

_But of course._

All right then...Aphrodite?

_NO! That is the twenty-third time you've suggested that shallow woman._

Liar. It's my twenty-second time. Any anyway, who else could you be? Cupid?

_Of course not; he is a boy. And his Greek name is Eros, Cupid is Roman._

Okay...whatever. Suddenly I heard a knock on the door and I smiled. The stupid voice would shut up when I was talking to people. Sometimes. I got up off the bed and opened the door, standing there in shock. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey, good to see you too Cynthia. I've been great, thanks for asking." Thalia said sarcastically, waltzing right in. "And I could ask you the same question; what are _you_ doing here? This is Percys cabin."

"Oh, sorry Thalia. Haven't seen you in a while, should have been a bit nicer. Ah, I just meant you don't normally come to camp, seeing as you're a Hunter of Artemis and all." I replied, closing the door and going to sit on my bed.

"Mmhm." Thalia said, sitting beside me. "You going to tell me why you're in Percys cabin now?"

"Oh yeah, right you were with the hunters. Well, I got claimed and it turns out I'm a Daughter of Poseidon."

"Oh," Thalia said, nodding. "Makes sense. Wait a minute, though, then why weren't you claimed instead of Percy when Poseidon needed someone to clear his name? You been here what...ten years? Since you were four, right?"

"Seven, actually. I was seven when I got here, which was seven years ago. And I've wondered that myself. I'm thinking that it might have something to do with the fact that I was eight back then and I wouldn't have stood a change on the quiet; but hey, whatever. Everything turned out okay, right."

"Yeah," Thalia murmured. "I still wonder why he didn't claim you sooner."

"I don't know Thals, and I probably never will. I don't mind though, really. And it's pointless to dwell on things that you can't change." What I didn't say, though, was that I didn't want to drive myself past the point of insanity I've already achieved by wondering what might've been going through my father's mind all those years I went unclaimed.

I yawned and stretched and I felt my sleeve fall a bit, revealing my arm slightly. I yanked my arms down, but it was too late. Thalia narrowed her eyes and yanked my sleeve up to my elbow. "What is _that_?"

I looked down to see how bad it was, and I saw my arm was almost completely covered in bruises and I had a long cut running up from my wrist to my elbow. Shit, there was no way I could convince Thalia to not tell Percy once she found out. Unfortunately, it sounded like a question when I said "Um...sword fighting?"

Thalia gave me an annoyed look. "I'm not a moron, Cynthia; if it was sword fighting there would be more than one cut and virtually no bruises, unless you fell, and even then there wouldn't be that many bruises. One, maybe. But even then it's a long shot. Plus, they would have healed it with ambrosia or nectar."

What was I thinking to not think of using ambrosia or nectar to heal myself? Stupid. "Er...well. Fine, I'll tell you. But first you have to swear on the River Styx not to tell anyone what I'm about to tell you ever, unless I say otherwise."

"No." She said defiantly. "I'm not swearing anything on the River Styx until you tell me. I'll swear after."

"Then swear on the River Styx that you'll swear on the River Styx not to tell anyone what I'm about to tell you after I tell you," I said, smirking. "Or I'm not telling you."

"Fine! I swear on the River Styx that I will not tell anyone what you're about to tell me unless you say otherwise." She said through gritted teeth, obviously not happy about it.

Thunder rumbled in the sky and I was satisfied that there was no way she could tell anyone now, no matter how much she wanted to. So I said super confidently, "I'm being abused."

Okay, so that might not be how it happened exactly. I may have whispered it meekly, but hey! Let's see you tell someone you're being abused nonchalantly.

_I could do it._

Shut your fucking mouth. This is so not the time.

"What?" Thalia said, her eyes widening. "Cynthia, you, you have to tell someone! I would never have sworn on the Styx if I'd known...but I can't tell anyone now, so you have to! I swear, if you don't _I'll _beat you."

"I have told someone," I said, "And they're not telling anyone."

"Who?"

"You." She glared at me. "I'm kidding, Thalia. Another one of my friends - Jillian Mistero, Daughter of Athena - knows. Well, okay I didn't exactly _tell_ her. It went just like this, actually; she noticed and I told her, I guess. But I didn't have to make her swear on the Styx. _She _get's that I need to be the one to tell people, when I'm ready. Honestly, though, most people will never know."

"Well, who are you planning on telling?" Thalia asked. As an afterthought she added, "When you're ready, I mean."

"I 'unno. I didn't exactly make a list. Probably just Annabeth, Percy, Chiron and...Maybe Nico." I said, blushing a little at how that must sound.

Thalia peered over at me. "Cynthia, do you li8ke Nico?"

"Yeah, I guess. I mean, he seems pretty okay." I told her, ignoring what I knew she meant.

She rolled her eyes. "You know what I meant Cynthia; do you have a crush on him?"

"No." I quickly denied it.

"Liar. Listen, I spent _years_ watching Annabeth drool over Luke, and I drooled over him for a while myself; I know how people act when they like someone, and you definitely act like you like Nico."

"Well, I don't." I grumbled, glaring at her. "And you sound like Aphrodite."

"Are you saying Aphrodite drooled over Luke when he was alive?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

I screwed up my face in disgust. "Oh Gods no, that's disgusting. I just meant that you're acting like you're an expert on love or whatever."

"You don't believe in love, do you Cynthia?" Thalia asked me curiously.

I sighed. I'd debated this topic with myself on numerous occasions. "Well...it's not that I don't believe in love, it's just that it seems so incredibly stupid and it doesn't seem quite worth it to me. I know it exists, because I've seen it, but it's nothing like how most people picture it, how people write about it in books. It's not all walks on the beach and playful wrestling matches that turn into kissing. It's painful and you fight like crazy and most of the time it seems like you hate each other, and I don't know maybe he does hate me. I never can tell. But it's so stupid and it's nothing close to worth it. I mean sure, we do have our moments I guess, but there so outnumbered by the painful ones that I can barely even remember them. Everyone thinks love is the most perfect thing in the world, and it's not. Especially since perfect doesn't exist; there's no such thing as being perfect, so perfection itself is imperfection. But, imperfect things tend to be crazy and unpredictable, when you're a demigod they do, and I like crazy and unpredictable things so...I might let myself fall in love. Just once, to see what it's like."

I looked over at Thalia, certain she was about to make some sarcastic comment, but instead I saw she was smiling a bit, and I couldn't help but feel the irony of the situation; I was talking to _Thalia _about_ love. _Tough, I don't give a shit, given up on love, Hunter of Artemis, _Thalia_.

"You know," Thalia said, "Throughout most of that it sounded as if you were talking about your feelings for someone. A certain son of Hades maybe?"

"_Thalia!_" I exclaimed, annoyed.

"Okay, okay." She said, backing down. "Just trying to me helpful."

I blinked and stared at her. "That's seriously you being helpful?"

"No, that's me being right."

"Go screw yourself."

"Can't, Hunter of Artemis remember?" She asked me, smirking.

"I don't think that includes yourself." I said, not quite sure myself.

"Well, I wouldn't want to take the chance of getting kicked out, now would I?"

"Guess what? You're getting kicked out now." She looked confused until I hit her with my pillow and pointed to the door. "Get out."

"No need to act like you're seven again, Cynthia. It's not that big of a deal you like Nico." I said, smirking.

I hit her again. "I. Do. Not. Like. Him! Now, get out!"

"Alright, alright I'll see you later." Thalia said before getting up and walking to the door. She stopped before leaving and said, "The Hunters of Artemis were in New York and I convinced them to come to camp so I could visit a few people."

I watched her leave, confused until I remembered asking her why she was here. I let myself fall down onto my bed and I groaned. I knew I'd been childish, but honestly I was feeling irritable, mainly because Thalia _had_ been right; in a few days time Nico had managed to get me to fall in love with him. No, wait. I was _not_ in love with Nico di Angelo. He'd just managed to get me to form a teensy weensy little microscopic crush on him. Aw, who am I kidding; I had full on crush on Nico di Angelo. Somebody, please kill me. I wasn't even sure if I still had a boyfriend or not.

_Oh, Gods no leave him right now! _I heard the annoying voice say. _Dump his sorry ass; trust me, Venus knows best._

Yes! So _that's_ who you are. The Roman Aphrodite!

_No, actually I was just fooling with you dear; I am Aphrodite._

Knew it.

_Oh do be quiet; pride could get you killed when you're a demigod, just look at Achilles and what happened to him._

I'm not going to die because I was right about you being Aphrodite.

_Yes, well, as you demigods would say, whatever. You do know why I'm here, don't you?_

To annoy the Hades out of me?

_No, of course not. I've taken a liking to you and Nico._

You've taken a liking to us? What the hell does _that _mean?

_It means that, with the help of my lovely children, I am going to-Oh, I must go. Toodleoo ._

And with that she shut up. Go figure, just when I'm getting somewhere with her she decides to leave. But what did she mean she's taken a liking to me and Nico? It's just a crush; no big deal. But...didn't Aphrodite take a liking to Percy and Annabeth? And now they're...

Shit, I'm screwed.


	8. I Fall Off A Pegasus

**Hiii(: Here's another chapter for all you _lectores_ out there. If you don't know, _lectores_ is Spanish for readers. Sorry it took me so long to update; I had no time to type this up.**

**I hope you like - no, _love_ - it(:**

You have _got_ to be kidding me. Aphrodite just had to take a liking to me and Nico? I mean, it was just a small crush; I could get over it anytime I wanted to. You know what? I've decided I'm not going to like him anymore. Yup, that's it. I officially do not like Nico di Angelo.

_That's not how it works, sweetie; I decide who you end up with. I am the goddess of love, after all._

Might as well be the goddess of stupidity for all that brains you've got; are you one of the fates? No. You could make me fall head over heels in love with Nico i f you wanted to, but you can't make me be with him. If I decide to say no if he asks me out, well there's nothing you can do about it.

_Oh, but dear, you really don't understand; I don't need to make you fall head over heels madly and passionately in love with Nico; you're already there._

Whoa back up there brainless; a little crush is _not_ head over heels passionately and madly in love. You added way to many false adjectives to that sentence.

_What did you call me? I am not brainless! I am a goddess; we are perfect! We have no flaws and we are not stupid!_

Of course that's the part of the conversation you focused on; I called you brainless because you are. And you just proved my point; nobody's perfect and everybody has flaws, even gods. And by the way lady, you have _way_ to much free time.

_What do you mean? I am constantly busy; I have no free time._

Dude you're spending your time messing with my non-existent love life; if that doesn't scream too much free time then I don't know what does. Thanks for pairing me with Kieran, by the way. Quite a catch, he was.

_You don't understand dear; it was completely necessary._

Oh yeah, me getting beaten by a drunk fifteen-year-old on numerous unfortunate occasions; totally necessary.

_Sarcasm should be a sin. You're not looking at the bigger, much more important picture._

Sarcasm should be a lifestyle. Oh wait; it already is. Who would have thought? And what 'bigger picture'. Let's guess, what's horrible enough for you of all people to call a bigger picture? I do believe that the only thing I can think of is that I'm supposed to make Nico pity me because I was abused and then have him fall in love with me only to break his heart.

_...Well..._

Aw hell no. You shallow bitch. We're not all pity-seeking heartbreakers you know. Most of us – demigods, I mean – realize that it hurts like Hades when you break someone's heart, and anyway Nico's had enough heartache in his life without this. One thing you definitely need to realize is that most people aren't cruel, insensitive bitches like you.

_How dare you-you_. I could hear her voice trembling with anger and I could just imagine she wanted to strange me, which only made me smirk wider. _I am a goddess! The goddess of love! I could make your love life a living hell!_

That's real scary; my love life's going to suck. No, really; I'm trembling in my knee-high converse.

_You will regret this!_

Yeah, whatever. At least I'm not stupid enough to infiltrate and communicate with a demigod through their _brain_. I mean chicken-shit much? Would it be so hard to leave wherever the hell you are and come here to talk to me in person like a normal person would? Even Gods usually send a dream-message, not just pop inside someone's freaking god-damn head!

_..._ Silence, which was a very welcome change after Aphrodite's constant chattering. Oh great, angry breathing; very annoying. _You dare talk to a goddess like this? I COULD HAVE YOU KILLED._

M'mkay, that would be because you're too incapable to do it yourself, right? I do believe I'm right.

_You better stop it, girl. I could give you the worst punishment of all and without any effort on my part._

Which would be...?

_A perfect love life._

At first I thought I heard her wrong and I just blinked but after a moment or so of consideration I realized she was absolutely serious and I burst out laughing. I hardly even noticed that Aphrodite had shut up at last I was laughing so hard. I finally stopped laughing when I felt a godly presence enter the room. I wiped away the tears of laughter that had begun to brim at my eyes with my hand and looked over to see a woman, who I was guessing could be no other than in infamous Aphrodite. I simply shook my head at her appearance and smirked. "So, this is the real you; looks pretty fake to me."

She gave me what I guess was her idea of a glare, but really with her perfect face and makeup it just looked snotty instead of terrifying like I'm sure it was supposed to me. "You're treading in dangerous waters."

"Lady, your idea of 'terrifying' is a perfect love like; I'm not scared of you." I said with an over-confident smirk.

"I can see into your heart, girl," She began and I laughed inside at how quickly I went from being 'sweetie' to just plain 'girl'. "I know the thing you fear the most in the world is commitment. You're afraid that if you commit to something and everything is perfect then it will all fall apart and fail you like everything else in your life has. I can see that not only your heart but your very soul is broken. However, since I am much more forgiving than some of the Gods, I will trust that the only reason you're acting this way is because you are PMSing—"

My mouth dropped open slightly and I interrupted her with an "I am _not_ PMSing!"

"Not yet. But, if you insist, then I suppose all this has been brought on by raging hormones due to teenage adolescence—"

"Not everything has to do with hormones or PMSing lady! I just hate you!" I screaming, hoping she'd finally get it.

"Would you prefer I kill you?" She snapped at me.

"No, not really."

"Then listen up; this one time I will let you go, but if you ever cross me again—"

"Perfect love life?" I cut her off with a smirk. What? It was fun.

"Stop interrupting me!" She yelled out, obviously frustrated and not used to getting her way. Huh, I didn't realize it before but Aphrodite really is just like an annoying 5 year old who didn't get her away.

"If you leave then I will."

And with that, the very stupid and annoying Goddess of Love (blech) left.

Finally. I got up and out of the bed I was in. I looked over at the clock and saw that it was just about time for Pegasus riding, so I put my converse on and left the cabin; Pegasus riding was the only thing i hated missing beside sword fighting. I hummed as I left the cabin and practically skipped to the Pegasus stables. I knew I had no good reason to feel happy but I just did. Probably because, for the first time in days, I actually had my head all to myself. "What's got you in such a good mood?"

I jumped a bit in shock because I hadn't seen anyone and honestly I was pretty tempted to do a ninja stance, but I really didn't want to look stupid. Doing a random ninja stance was pathetic, anyway. I looked around frantically before finally turning around to see a very amused Nico. Trying to compose myself I said, "Oh I don't know, the sun is shining the birds are singing and I get to go ride Celeste."

"You're going to go ride an Aphrodite camper?" Nico asked me, puzzled.

"For, I'm not for three very good reasons," I said with a laugh. "One, I'm straight as it comes. Two, she's a total slut and she probably would like me to ride her, therefore if you'd refer to number one, I am not. And thirdly, Celeste is my Pegasus; Percy has Blackjack and I have Celeste."

He nodded and we began to walk to the stables together. I became suddenly aware that we had a sort of unspoken truce not to bicker and fight anymore and I smiled. It really had been getting old. Nico suddenly asked me, "Does she insist on calling you boss or lord like Blackjack does?"

"Nope," I replied. As an afterthought I added, "Okay, she used to but she stopped after I told her not to a couple times."

"Oh." He said, nodding. We arrived at the stables then so we had to part to get on our separate Pegasi. When I got to Celeste I got on here and said – er, thought – Hey Celeste.

_Hello, Cynthia. Anything specific you'd like me to do today?_

I smiled; Celeste could do all sorts of neat tricks, from flips to loop de loops. Well, I thought, how about you decide today?

_You got it boss!_ She said enthusiastically and I chuckled a bit. Okay, so maybe Celeste did slip up and call me boss from time to time but hey, she's just a Pegasus; nobody's perfect, not even a Pegasus.

Unfortunately Celeste went a little too crazy with her free reign; she flew in loop de loops and did flips until we were way too high up, so high I couldn't feel the ground and I was starting to have trouble breathing. I began to fear that Zeus wouldn't forgive me for flying so high up so I commanded Celeste to go lower. She contended and began to fly lower, but she did it too fast. The only thing i registered before I fell off Celeste was how cold the air was up this high in the air, and that i bet it would hurt when I hit the ground.

Whether death would be instantaneous or not it was too soon to tell.


	9. Poor, Unfortunate Celeste

****

Okay, so this is extremely short and kind of pointless - and definitely not my best writing, but I do have an excuse. See the second authors not for reference, down below at the end of the chapter - but I felt bad for not updating, and hey; every story needs a few filler chapters every once in a while. Anyway, filler or not, I hope you enjoy.

I never got to find out.

Whether or not death would've been instantaneous, I mean. don't get me wrong; I'm happy I don't know. Overjoyed, even. It jut annoyed me _why_ I didn't find out; Nico. Whether in a dream or reality, he seemed to be saving me a lot. And I hated, _hated_ feeling like a damsel in distress, even though at the moment I _so_ was.

Anyway, to explain as I was free-falling - which, looking back, was actually kind of fun - a Pegasus came sweeping down and over along with the infamous Nico di Angelo. That was all there was too it, really. It's wasn't complicated at all; no one even noticed that I'd fallen. No one but Nico, apparently.

So now we were just cruising around, trying to find Celeste who'd flown off in a panic. My arms were around Nico, and even though I'd kind of accepted that I had feelings for him, I still tried to convince myself that it was just to stop me from falling again.

Well, that's what I told Nico, anyway.

As I began to get bored I also began to hum loudly, which was probably extremely annoying because I am a terrible hummer. After a few minutes I felt Nico turn a little to stare at me. I stopped humming and smirked a bit. "Is there something wrong?"

"What are you doing?" He asked me, an annoyed look on his face. Ha. Well, I told you my humming was annoying.

"That was humming?" He asked me incredulously.

"Yeah, why?"

"You're terrible at it." He stated as a matter of factly.

"I'm aware." I replied dryly. "Last I checked you aren't perfect either, Mr. di Angelo."

He smirked and I could tell what was coming, psychic powers or not; "Which one of us fell off of a Pegasus, exactly?"

"It's not my fault." I grumbled pathetically. "Celeste flew too high."

"Yeah, blame the Pegasus."

I rolled my eyes and scoffed but before I could respond I heard a scared voice in my mind saying, _where are you boss?_

And, for the first time, I didn't mind being called boss; at least I knew Celeste was safe.

Somewhat.

After I'd told Nico that I'd heard her and fifteen minutes of gruelling searching, we finally spotted her. She'd crash-landed in the middle of the forest, and she looked seriously injured. After landing Nico's Pegasus I dropped to my knees beside Celeste. I didn't know what to do; I was no healer. I'd go get Lyra, but she, sadly, wasn't much of a healer either, as I'd stated before.

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck _fuck_." I cursed repeatedly under my breath. With unnoticeable tears forming in my eyes I turned to Nico and said, "Could you go get Laura Elgart from the Apollo cabin? If anyone can heal Celeste it's her."

"Kay." He said before disappearing quickly. After a few minutes of panic, I realized I had absolutely no idea what to do and I would probably be absolutely no help to Celeste, so giving her a quick kiss on her cheek - do Pegasi have cheeks? - I began to pace.

After about ten minutes of pacing Nico _finally_ showed up with Laura. After a string of apologies about how he couldn't find her, and distracting, supposedly helpful comments, both me and Laura were yelling for him to _shut up_ and, miraculously, he did.

I sat against a tree trunk, pulling my legs up to my chest, placing my head on my knees, and Nico sat beside me, placing his arm around me. We sat in silence for a while before Laura turned to us, tears in her eyes, and said. "I'm sorry. I tried but…she's dead, Cynthia."

* * *

After the disappointing and heart wrenching news of Celeste's death - I will admit, I broke down a little. No say the least, I cried into Nico's shoulder like a baby and I was _extremely_ embarrassed about it - Nico walked me back to my cabin and promised to tell Chiron that Celeste had died. I could tell he was trying to be careful around me now, and that kind of annoyed me. Though I understood; he may be the Son/Prince of death and he may have experienced many deaths, but I could tell he had no idea what to do with a slightly emotional-prone teenage girl who had experienced death many a times before yet still cried like a freaking baby when it happens.

I am so pathetic.

Anyway, it was only about ten or so in the morning but it might as well have been ten at night. Celeste's death had left me slightly exhausted, and I definitely did _not_ want to be around people right now. So, I did what a normal teenager would do; - yes, though I am far from normal myself, I do have normal tendencies - I took a nap

****

Okay, so I'm extremely sorry for how bad this is. It's just, well, I'm exhausted. I actually have this sleeping disorder, insomnia, so I haven't been thinking straight though all of the exhaustion but I really wanted to update so I'm sorry my moms been meaning to take me to the doctor but…well, let's just say she's a bigger procrastinator than me, and that's saying something. Anyway, I still hope you enjoyed this stupidly sad filler chapter.


	10. Immaturity Rules

**Hey(: Hope you like this chapter, another's coming soon! Like, seriously; it's already written. I just have to type it up.**

I awoke with a start, looking around for what it was that had woken me up.

It took me a moment to realize that it had been Percy. Annoyed and tried, I rolled over and said, "What do you want?"

I felt him sit down on my bed as he said, "I heard Celeste died."

"Yeah." I mumbled sadly into my pillow.

"Chiron wants to see you." He said, brushing a loose strand of hair out of my face.

"I don't want to see Chiron."

"You have to see Chiron"

"No I don't"

"Yes you do"

"No I don't"

If I'm being completely honest and truthful without guys...that went on for about fifteen minutes before I finally rolled over and said, "Do I really, _really_ have to go?"

Percy nodded sadness evident in his eyes. "Yeah, you do. Sorry kiddo."

I rolled my eyes. "Don't call me that."

"I just did." He said, smirking.

"Well, stop."

"No." He said, his smirk growing ever larger.

"Yes." I replied insistently.

"No."

"Yes." I said, annoyed and somewhat defiantly.

"...No."

Sadly this went on for another ten minutes. Alas, me being the less patient of me and Percy, I finally gave up and said "You know, for a guy who saved the world and all you're extremely immature."

"So I've been told."

"Annabeth?" I asked a smirk and a raised eyebrow clear on my face.

"Pfft, naw. Pff...What made you think that...yeah, it was Annabeth."

"That's what I thought. My seventeen year old brother just got poned by me, his fifteen year old sister. Sad."

He rolled his eyes. "You're fourteen/"

I pouted slightly. "Fifteen in a month and a half."

"Don't care." He said, hitting me playfully before getting up. He extended his hand to help me up and I accepted it. He helped me to my feet, and looking down he said "You're still wearing your shoes?"

Looking down I realized I was. "Yes, yes I am"

"You're a weird kid, you know that?" Percy said, smiling a bit.

"So I've been told." I replied.

"Okay then. So, anyway I have to go teach sword playing now."

"And I've got to go see Chiron." I consented, walking out the door with Perce.

"Good, because really you were supposed to go like..." He checked his watch. "Forty-five minutes ago."

"Yeah, I know. Now run along to your swords class and I'll see you later Perce." I said, waving him off.

"Later kiddo." He said before running off to the swords arena.

Loser.

I laughed and began to walk through Camp Half-Blood and towards the Big House. I t really was a nice day out, and it's terrible that it had to be tainted by Celeste's death. I sighed sadly. I really would miss the old' softie. Trying to take my mind off of her, I began to jog faster. The sooner I began to talk to Chiron the sooner my mind would be off of Celeste, right?

Well, something else stole my attention first; about three quarters of the way to the big House I heard Lyra and someone else talking. About me.

"What do you want me to say Lyra? Do I like Cynthia? Okay, yeah I do. But that doesn't change the fact that she doesn't feel the same way about me!" I heard a familiar voice whisper-yell and I stopped in my tracks; someone liked me. _Me._ And I obviously knew this person, because their voice was all too familiar. Like, you know those times when the answer is just on the tip of your tongue but you just can't figure it out? Well that's how I feel now.

"Dude, I've known you like Cynthia for a long time now. It's just...I don't want her to get hurt. And well...I'm sorry I made you admit it, but..." I heard Lyra say, sounding completely un-Lyra and helpless. My eyes widened a bit; it really had to be something if Lyra of all people sounded helplessly tongue-tied.

"What do you mean?" The guy said softly, curiously.

"It's just...well Cynthia's been mistreated, underestimated, misunderstood. She likes for people to think that everything's okay but really she's in a pretty fragile state right now. What, with the Kieran thing and all..." She trailed off and I stiffened; I must have been close to this guy if Lyra figured he'd know about Kieran abusing me. Lyra, by the way, knew because of an incident a few months back that I needed a child of Apollo for and Lyra, though not the best healer, was the only person I really trusted to help.

"What? What happened with Kieran?"

"Oh." Lyra said, sounding somewhat surprised. "She didn't tell you? Well...I guess you should know; I mean, she'd kill me if she knew I told you but...Kieran's been abusing her."

"What?" The guy sounded taken aback. "What the fuck, why wouldn't she tell someone?"

"Well...I mean...you don't know what it's like to be abused. _I _don't know what it's like to be abused. But Cynthia...for the first time in a long time she seemed powerless. Helpless, even. I don't know, but she was definitely desperate. She didn't know what to do, and it took a lot of persuasion for me to even get her to tell me that she was being abused."

"I just can't believe she's being abused." The guy whispered.

I could almost feel Lyra staring at him for a long moment before saying, "It gets worse than that...she never told you? He's raped her too. Got her pregnant a few months back, and then abused her until the baby died. I don't mean this in literal terms, but Cynthia's been to hell and back."

I blushed a scarlet red at the sudden reminder of my, um, pregnancy. And yeah, so maybe I wasn't kidding when I said Kieran, er, deflowered me. Deflowered is such an awkward word for some reason...well, duh it is in the context i'm using it...oh shit they're talking again!

"—seems so strong." The guy whispered.

Knowing Lyra, she was probably shrugging. "The strongest souls are seared with scars."

"Ain't that the truth." The guy said sadly, and suddenly I had a strong feeling that it was Nico. No, it couldn't be Nico; Aphrodite was just messing with my mind again. Geez, she is such a freaking bitch.

"Maybe...maybe you should just ask her out." Lyra said softly. "It's always good to take chances, right?"

"No, it couldn't. I mean, one she'd probably say no, and two I wouldn't know how."

"You mean you've never dated anyone before?" Lyra said, laughing and my curiosity at the identity of the guy was too much for me. I began to come out from behind the bush I'd been subconsciously hiding behind, but his voice sent be jumping back behind the bush.

"Of course I have!" He sounded offended. "But Cynthia's not like other girls. Plus, i'm not sure if she's still dating Kieran or not. She shouldn't be, but that doesn't mean she isn't."

To be honest, _I_ wasn't even sure if we were still dating.

"Okay...then don't ask her out until you're sure she doesn't have a boyfriend. Just get to know her better. There's that trip out to New York on Friday. That's three days away. Ask her to hang out then. That could work, right?"

"Not really...no, I can't. She wouldn't want to get into a relationship right after getting out of an abusive one."

"That's why you would just be hanging out with her, as friends."

"I just can't Lyra. Gods, why don't you get that? I just can't." I heard him run off and Lyra sighed deeply before walking off herself. Looking at the clock on my phone I saw that it had been over an hour since Chiron had first requested my presence. I jumped out from behind the bush and began to run towards the Big House. As soon as I got there I ran into there as well, and as soon as I entered I saw Chiron and breathed out. "Sorry I'm late Chiron, I got sidetracked. What did you want to see me for?"

"Nico told me Celeste died." He said sadly as I sat down. "I'd just like to know how it happened."

"Oh," I said. I'd been afraid of this. "Well, I was riding Celeste and I told her she had free reign to do whatever she wanted and she flew too high and I fell off. Nico caught me on his Pegasus and we searched for her and when we found her shed sort of...crash landed."

Chiron nodded. "I see."

"It was my fault, really." I said, placing my hands in my lap. "I knew how crazy she got when I gave her free reign...I shouldn't have given it to her."

Chiron raised his hand and pointed it in my general direction before lowering it down onto the table and saying, "Don't you ever think for a moment that it was your fault. People make mistakes. Pegasi die. Its two things that when go hand in hand is a terrible tragedy, but a common and forgivable mistake indeed."

"Common?" I said, raising an eyebrow. "You mean this has happened before?"

"Sadly, yes." Chiron replied. "You are not the first, but hopefully the last. You may go now."

My face fell. "That was all?"

"Yes, child."

"No offense, but Chiron; couldn't you have gotten Nico to tell you what happened? I was sort of asleep."

"I'm sorry, but the main reason I wanted to see you was to make sure you didn't blame yourself."

"Well...okay." I said, hopping out of the chair. "Bye Chiron."

I ran to the door of the Big House before turning around and waving. I ran out of the Big House and hopped over the railing before running away, straight into the forest. I'm not sure why I was running away this time;

I just was.


	11. Gildie The Wood Nymph

**Okay so another chapter (: I said it was already written. I hope you like it.**

Even as I tore through the forest I wasn't quite sure where I was going; I just let my feet take flight. I sprinted past one of the younger dryads, Lilly, and her mother Juniper. I kept running, running, running until I was bent over, clutching my stomach and positive I was about to puke. I stood up and took a breath; looking around at the scenery surrounding me. Then I remembered and I knew why I was here. I ran over to where an ancient tree was planted firmly in the ground and I began to sing a soft melody the dryad of this tree had taught me. Almost immediately a journal appeared, as if by magic.

To be honest, it wasn't magic; the journal was made with the bark of this tree. Its dryad, a kindly old nymph named Gildie, had made it for me when I'd first gotten here. She said it was to help adapt to the sudden changes in my life.

I picked the journal up off the ground and hugged it to my chest. "Hello, dear; it's been a while."

I whipped around and saw the kindly face of my oldest longstanding friend; even now, thousands of years old, Gildie still held her ageless appearance; her long, soft brown hair flowed and her green eyes twinkled. You wouldn't think of her as a teenager, as I once had, but perhaps as someone in their late twenties, early thirties. "Oh, Gildie, it's you. How have you been?"

"Fairly well," She said a smile present on her face. "And you, Cynthia dear?"

"I've been...mixed up." I answered truthfully.

She beckoned me over to the mesh area where we used to sit and talk for hours back when Gildie had been my only friend. "Why don't we talk? Talking often sorts out mixed feelings."

I nodded. "That sounds good." We walked over to where the mesh was and sat down on it. I know it should've felt weird, but instead I got the sensation of sitting on a cloud. Gildie took me hair out of my ponytail and it tumbled down, almost to my waist. I hadn't even realized how long it was getting. Gildie began to separate it into three chunks of hair and two of the black waves went over my shoulders while she braided the middle one. She used to do this every time I visited her, braid three separate braids then braid those braids into one braid. It sounds weird, but it actually looked simple, yet elegant.

"First off, dear, please tell me how long it's been since you last visited me; I don't feel the time pass as you would, but you look older."

I sighed. "It's been years. The last time you saw me I was ten, and now I'm fourteen going on fifteen."

She chuckled. "Really? You could've fooled me, sweetie; you look barely thirteen."

"Yeah, I know; I look incredibly young for my age."

"So," She began. "What's gotten you feeling so mixed up?"

"I sighed unhappily. "It's everything, really. The circumstances never seem to be in my favour; I've angered Aphrodite, and quite frankly the feeling is mutual. I've honestly got nothing good to say about her right now." Gildie just nodded as if to tell me to continue as she finished the middle braid; I shrugged the hair that was draped over my right shoulder to my back and she moved onto braiding that one. "Well, I have a boyfriend, and to be honest he's a total asshole."

"Language, Cynthia." She scolded my playfully.

"Trust me; if you knew Kieran you'd be calling him an a-hole too."

"Why exactly is he a buttoxhole?"

I stifled a laugh at Gildie's way around saying asshole. "Well, he gets drunk a lot and then he abuses me. Or rapes me. Or both."

I looked back at her but she only nodded thoughtfully. "It happens to the best of us."

"Huh?"

"Cynthia, if you think you're the first demigod I've ever befriended then you're, well, insane."

"I've contemplated it." I said, smirking, and Gildie laughed good-naturedly.

"Cynthia, sweetie, i'm millennia old; though you are the first demigod to find your way to me in centuries I've befriended many demigods in my existence. Even in ancient time's woman were, predictable, raped and abused. This may not help, but what I mean to say, dear, is that you're not alone."

"Well I know that." I said, shrugging. ""Thought I do admit that in the worst of times I feel completely isolated and alone, even in a crowded room. You know?"

"Indeed I do," She said, moving on to the third braid.

"And then...well there's this incredibly annoying son of Hades, Nico di Angelo, and I think I may be in love with him." I said, finally admitting it.

"I thought you had a boyfriend?" Gildie said, obviously confused.

I laughed sadly. "Gildie, these aren't ancient times; rape and abuse aren't considered tolerable anymore. I'm not even sure if we're still dating, but if we are then I'm breaking up with him."

"I see." She said. "Now you said you only think you love him?"

I sighed. "I really don't know about love anymore. I just know I have strong feelings for him, and they're definitely positive."

She nodded silently and I sighed as I opened the journal, reading the first entry from back when I was about six or seven, way back in 2002.

_Let's get something straight; this is not a diary nor is it a journal. It's merely a collection of writing about my...um...thoughts. Aw, who am I kidding? If this has to be either a diary or a journal, then I pick journal hands down. Anyway, there is absolutely no way that I am putting any information about myself in here. Risk someone who knows me finding this? Forget it. And if i lose this journal and someone finds it and can't return it because I didn't put my name in here, well good riddance; this whole journal thing was Gildie's idea anyway. I guess I could put a few facts about myself in here, seeing as it really couldn't hurt; most of this, pardon my age, applies to everyone in camp anyway. Okay, so i'm six, almost seven, I'm female and I believe in Greek Mythology. If you're not one of us then please pick your jaw up off the floor and stop laughing nervously. Oh yeah, and while we're at it, stop reading! If you haven't, well hello; glad to entertain you, whoever you are, but I have to go. Later. _

_-April 19__th__, 2002_

I smiled sweetly at how I'd been more or less in this exact position when I'd written that, with Gildie braiding my much shorter hair.

I flipped to the next page.

_Its days like this that really make me wonder about life. No, i'm not suicidal, nor have I ever been, but seriously; what's the point? I know i'm too young to know the meaning of life or whatever, but i'm pretty sure i'm supposed to have _something_ to live for by now. But no; I've got plenty of friends and an array of people I think of as family, but nothing to live for. I know I'll never have something to die for, and that's not just me being pessimistic; dying for something, or more likely someone, is just plain stupid. Why would you leave them all alone like that when you could just save both of you instead? I really shouldn't be debating the meaning of life right now; it's like 3:13 in the morning and between this and Travis's snoring I'm getting a migraine. Ugh, I kind of have to believe in fate – the fates, duh – but i'm still not sure if I believe in love or not. Oh man, here we go again; I just can't let things be, can I? I'm constantly debating whether or not love's worth it. And honestly? I've got some pretty mixed up views on the subject. Sometimes i think it might be all it's cracked up to be and that's why people fight so hard for it, but at the same time it seems so stupid; you let your world fall apart, you go through all the pain, the suffering and for what? Love makes you crazy and most of the time it doesn't even seem worth it. But I still think I might try it sometime._

_-April 21__st__, 2002_

I sighed and closed the journal as I realized that Gildie had finished with the braid(s?) and that she'd slung it over my shoulder.

"You were such a sad little girl when I first met you." Gildie said, sounding somewhat fond.

"My parents had just died." I said, shrugging though my heart ached. "I blamed myself and it made me pretty depressed."

Gildie turned me around to look at her. "Don't blame yourself, chica. And don't fib, I can tell you still think it's your fault. You couldn't possible have known."

"I shouldn't have run away. I should have been there." I said sadly.

"Cynthia if you'd been there you have been ripped to shreds alongside them. Your parents wouldn't have wanted that."

"I guess not." I said thoughtfully.

"Cynthia?" She said scoldingly. I sighed and tried for a smile. "I know so. They wouldn't have wanted you to die."

I nodded. "I'm sorry Gildie, but I think I should go now. I was supposed to go visit a friend."

"Alright then sweetie, get on."

Getting up I said, "I'll visit."

"I'm sure you will." She said, getting up herself before smiling and pulling me into a hug.

"Goodbye, Gildie." I said, hugging her back before pulling away and jogging over to the entrance of the field we were in.

"Cynthia?" I turned around. "This time, don't wait five years." Then, she vanished, leaving me with a small smile on my face.

Time to go visit Lyra.


	12. Authors Note

I am the worst, you guys must hate me by now. I know I haven't updated in forever, and I've started a chapter that will be done as soon as possible, I swear! I just wanted to make this quick little authors note to tell you all how sorry I am about the absence in updates. I could spend my time making up a list of excuses, or I could work on the chapter, and I think we all prefer the latter :) On a lighter note, whose read The Son Of Neptune? :D 


	13. New York

**Hey guys, long time no write. I'm so sorry I went so long without updating, but here's one for you all. Hope you enjoy (:**

I stepped out of the woods and into the main stream of camp life.

I looked around for Lyra, and upon not immediately seeing her I walked up to Jillian, who I assume must have been going to her cabin. Catching her attention, I said "Hey Jill."

"Oh, hey Cynthia; what's up?" She asked me, smiling while she pulled her long blonde hair into a ponytail.

I shrugged, saying "Nothing really. But hey, have you seen Lyra? I really need to talk to her right now."

"Yeah, she's in her cabin. Not sure why, Apollo kids are scheduled for Pegasus riding right now. But I need to ask you something." She said hesitantly, her face displaying a slight worried expression she'd had every time she talked to me since she found out about Kieran abusing me.

I sighed. Thanks to some ambrosia the bruises were healed and it no longer hurt, so I was good… For now. And even though I knew what she was about to ask, I still said "What?"

"Have you told anyone else about… Um… Yeah. Y'know?" She said, biting her lip.

"Yeah, Thalia found out. Same way you did. But I need to go, so we can talk about it later if you want I guess, alright?"

"Alright," She said, still looking worried.

I smiled. "Thanks Jill."  
"Don't mention it." She said softly as I ran off in the direction of the Apollo cabin. Upon getting there, I knocking quickly and barged inside before anyone answered.

Lyra was laying on her bed, reading a book. She looked up when I came in, and I sat down beside her on the bed, saying "Skipping shortie?"

"I could say the same to you." She said with a smirk.

"Except I'm not short." I replied with a smirk of my own.

She rolled her eyes, which was her way of saying she had no comeback whatsoever.

"Anyway," I said, remembering why I'd come here. "I, uh, overheard you earlier… I wasn't eavesdropping; I was just walking by… And… Ah hell, I overheard someone say they liked me and I eavesdropped on the rest of the conversation. You would too. And I won't kill you for telling whoever it was about Kieran abusing and raping me if you tell me who you were talking to."

"You don't know?" She said with a surprised look on her face. "I'd figure you'd have figured it out by now."

"But I didn't, so who is it?" I asked again impatiently, crossing my arms.

"Who do you think it is?" She asked me, smirking.

I hesitated. "Was it… Nico?"

She got this weird look on her face before she replied, "No Cynthia, it wasn't Nico. What would give you that idea?"

I shrugged, ignoring the sadness that was washing over me. "It just sounded kind of like him, that's all."

"Well, it wasn't him. And I'm not gonna tell you who it was." She said, hopping off of her bed. "But I have to go, which means you have to go."

I rolled my eyes before getting up, saying "Fine, but I _will_ find out who it was."

"I'm sure you will." She said sarcastically as we walked out of her cabin, and before I could reply she sprinted off to the Pegasus stables.

I rolled my eyes and bit my lip, wondering who it could have been. I looked down and kept walking, almost instantly bumping into someone. Before I could say anything, I heard the other person say, "Always a klutz, Cynthia."

I looked up to see Nico with a smile on his face, and with the knowledge that he was kidding, I smiled back. "Tell me about it. I can't do anything without bumping into someone or something."

He laughed before saying, "Well at least you've learned to take a joke."

I shoved him softly as we walked on our way, and jokingly said "Maybe I always knew, and just didn't apply that skill to you."

"It's possible." He replied, laughing.

"So, are you going to New York on Friday?"

"Yeah, I am." He said, running a hand through his hair. "Why?"

"Just wondering." I said with a smile, trying to figure out if I should ask him to hang out or not.

Before I could, he did. "Well are you going?" I nodded. "You wanna hang out while we're there? I mean, if you're not doing anything."

I pretended to think about it for a second, before I said "Well I don't think I have anything planned. Sure, let's hang out. What do you want to do?"

"Don't know." He said with a shrug and a smile. "How about we figure it out Friday?"

"Alright." I said, returning the smile. "Where are you going now?"

"I'm going to go see Percy; he wants to help be with my fighting. I survive a Titan war, and the kid _still_ doesn't believe in me enough to trust I won't get killed."

"He believes in you." I replied with a laugh. "She just doesn't want you to get hurt. And hey, for the record, I believe in you too."

He tucked his hands in his pockets, and began to walk backwards, saying "Thanks. But I'm already late to see him, so I'll talk to you later, alright?"

"Alright." I whispered to his back as he ran for my cabin. "Sounds good."

* * *

I rolled over on Friday morning to bright light. I groaned, realizing that I hadn't closed my window, and pulled a pillow over my head before closing my eyes once more. A few minutes passed before I woke up a little bit more and remembered that the camp was going to New York for the day, which woke me up fully. I practically jumped out of bed and ran for my dresser, grabbing a black undershirt and plaid long sleeved shirt. I went to a different drawer and grabbed an old pair of jean shorts before proceeding to get changed.

Percy was already awake and gone, which is what alarmed me to how late I must've been. I looked over to the clock to confirm my suspicions, seeing that it was almost two o' clock, which was when the vans were leaving. I grabbed about thirty dollars and put it in my jeans pocket, walking over to the door. I threw on my oldest pair of black converse and rushed outside, running to the strawberry fields, where almost everyone was. I found Nico after a few minutes of looking for him, and he apparently saw me at the same time, because he smiled and waved me over. I walked over to him and said, "When are the vans leaving?"

He pointed to where people were already getting into the vans. "Right now. You woke up just in time, but you missed breakfast and lunch. You must be starving."

Almost on cue, my stomach growled. Smiling weakly I said, "Yeah I guess I am. Could we go somewhere to get something to eat? I have money."

"Sure, whatever you want." He replied before we got into the vans.

It didn't seem to take that long to get to the heart of New York, maybe about fifteen or twenty minutes, but I was really bad at telling time so who knows. After we got into New York Nico and I headed to look for somewhere to eat. I spied an ice cream shop, and looking over at Nico I said, "How about ice cream?"

"You haven't eaten a solid meal all day and you want ice cream?" He said, laughing a little bit. I nodded, and he continued to say, "Eh, why not. Let's go."

We went into the shop to get our ice cream, and we ordered. I got wet paint, which tastes kind of like bubble gum with a few other flavors thrown in, and was actually quite delicious. Nico got mint chocolate chip, telling me that it was his favorite. We went to find somewhere to sit, and once we did we sat down and started talking. Nico seemed kind of upset though, so I cocked my head and stared at him for a moment before saying "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He said quickly, a little too quickly if you ask me.

"Bullshit; I can so tell something's wrong."

"Just thinking about…" He trailed off and hesitated for a moment before saying, "This girl I like."

"Do I know her?"

"Sort of."

"Well, what's she like?" I asked, licking my ice cream cone.

"She always wears some type of jeans, whether its jean shorts or skinny jeans. She doesn't wear any other type of bottoms; in fact I don't think I've ever seen her in a skirt." _Not a child of Aphrodite_, I mentally noted. "All of her friends think she's a little crazy, but they love her nonetheless."

"That doesn't narrow it down, or tell me much Nico. So tell me more." I said with a fake smile. It was killing me to hear about some girl Nico liked, but I'd just have to live with it.

"Well," He began. "She's been through a lot, and she can be quite the bitch sometimes, but at the end of the day she really is a good person. She always tries to make everyone else happy, and sometimes she forgets to make sure she's happy too. I wish I could make her happy, but I can't. She believes in me, and I think she trusts me, but she won't let me in enough for me to help her. And, well, I think I may be in love with her."

"Mmhmm." I said, my heart cracking into pieces. _Let it go_, I told myself. "What's her name?"

"Uhm… Er… Savannah?" He said uncertainly, obviously lying. I probably did know her. Well, two can play at that game.

"Well, I like this guy."

"Really?" He asked me, looking a little surprised, maybe even a little sad. But I was probably just imagining the sad part.

"Yeah."

"What's he like?" He asked, just as curiously as I had, if not a little bit more.

"Well, he's extremely attractive." I replied, finishing off my ice cream cone.

"I don't care."

"Of course you don't." I said, smirking. Oh, he'd care if he knew I was talking about him. "Well, he likes for people to think he's all tough and a bad boy, but really he's not. He's actually quite nice, almost sweet once you get to know him. But, like this Savannah he's been through more than a person should have to, even if said person is a demigod. He really is amazing."

"Think he likes you?" He replied.

Looking down, I whispered. "No, no I don't." Raising my eyes I said, "Do you think Savannah likes you?"

He hesitated, cocking his head to the side slightly. He ran his hands through his hair before replying "I don't know. I really don't."

I smiled sadly. "Well, I hope it works out between you two."


End file.
